Needing More Than a Prayer

Mortgages on houses of worship once seemed like safe bets for lenders, but with parishioners tithing less and less in these tough times, many churches are now struggling to stay current on loan payments.

Though aggregate data is hard to come by (the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. doesn't break church loans out from other commercial real estate), firms that lend to churches are reporting a surge in delinquencies and foreclosures of late.